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I need protection for my hands and arms up to my elbows when pruning roses or picking or trimming back blackberry bushes. The problem that I have found is that when the protection from a product is good, the dexterity needed in my fingers is not.Also,I live where it is very warm and working in gloves and/or arm protectors that are quite hot can be quite uncomfortable. Any suggestions, methods, products, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Diane Schulte

I used to recommend pig skin gloves for dexterity but now, you might want to go to a car parts store like AutoZone and check out some of the new mechanics gloves. Can't help you with the arm protection though.

I use "long distance pruning", using a bypass lopper (for big branches) and Corona or Fiskars shears (for small branches). I don't use gloves, because I like to work without them better. I pick cut branches from the ground using the same tools. This means that I don't use a hand pruner (or is it prunner?) - the one with the short handles.

Try chopsticks! That is, if you are enough adept at using them. You could even just try to use a thin stick just for the sake of separating the stems. You could probably use the arm protection but go glove-less (unless you use your hands to remove thorns)